North Korea: 'The military is ready to attack - waiting for the order'

Senior US security officials have said that an attack from North Korea is not imminent but also cautioned that the possibility of war is greater than it was a decade ago.

CIA Director Mike Pompeo on Sunday defended President Trump's tough rhetoric toward North Korea and praised the administration for "uniting the world" in trying to denuclearize the Korean Peninsula while making clear there is no intelligence that shows a nuclear war is "imminent".

Kim said North Korea will conduct the planned missile launches if the "Yankees persist in their extremely unsafe reckless actions on the Korean Peninsula and its vicinity" and that the United States should "think reasonably and judge property" to avoid shame, the news agency said. The American people should know that this administration is doing everything with its power.

Pompeo said Sunday, "The president made clear to the North Korea regime how America will respond if certain actions are taken".

Some analysts suggested Mr Kim's comments opened a possible path to de-escalating a growing crisis fuelled by bellicose words between US President Donald Trump and the North Korean leadership. In addition, North Korea threatened that its "military can fight any war the U.S. wishes".

North Korea, according to the director, has been moving at an "ever alarming rate" to develop nuclear-tipped ballistic missiles.

"The US military is locked and loaded every day", Mr McMaster said, repeating Mr Trump's threat.

Gen Dunford, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told reporters travelling with him that he aims to "sense what the temperature is in the region".

He also will discuss military options in the event the "diplomatic and economic pressurization campaign" fails.

The call came after Trump made fresh threats against North Korea on Friday, declaring the USA military "locked and loaded" and warning Kim that he "will regret it fast" if he takes any action against US territories or allies.

Kim also urged the United States to "show through actions if they wish to ease tensions on the Korean peninsula and prevent a risky military clash", according to the KCNA report.

North Korea's Minju Joson newspaper, meanwhile, lashed back at the U.S.in an editorial Saturday.

In a separate interview on ABC News, Trump's national security adviser, H.R. McMaster, struck a similar tone. Trump, responding to a report that US intelligence indicates Pyongyang can now put a nuclear warhead on its long-range missiles, vowed to rain down "fire and fury" if challenged.